If it's clogging recent posts, so what? If it's what people are talking about, it's what people are talking about. If it's going nowhere, if anything, it'd help not to make them split it across multiple threads...

I don't get all the thread-locking.If it's clogging recent posts, so what? If it's what people are talking about, it's what people are talking about. If it's going nowhere, if anything, it'd help not to make them split it across multiple threads and resuscitate the issue over and over rather than just having one uninterrupted discussion. And is it really your business, anyone's business, if General is having productive discussion or not?
I mean, I don't know in intimate detail how this forum's supposed to work, but I know how most forums work. This is a forum. This is the general discussion section of said forum.
I'd like to be able to talk about what I want to talk about in a place where people should be able talk about what they want to talk about.
And I don't get why there's any problem with that which can't just be accepted as a necessary thing.
And if there's a better place to have the discussions you don't want them having here, why not just… direct everyone there? It's an effective, permanent fix for everyone involved.
I'm not presenting the continuation of shutting down discussions as an option because it's far too gross for me to consider it one.

Imagine having a phrase that you must repeat, uncontrollably, after absolutely everything you say.

I am not a mod, but I've observed very little progression in the discussion, even after going for a few dozen comments and being up for several hours, some even for days. In my view, the mods have actually been pretty lenient in letting people express themselves. While many of the posts in question start out relatively civil, they have a way of boiling the blood and making people on both sides veer far off-topic on an issue that has little to nothing to do with the site.

I'd like to be able to talk about what I want to talk about in a place where people should be able talk about what they want to talk about.

You and me both. And others! The problem I see is that there are so many of us with such varied interests and opinions. If we, as a community, are not able to discuss these issues civilly, then perhaps we should refrain from discussing them at all.

And is it really your business, anyone's business, if General is having productive discussion or not?

Yes. Because this is a site I am responsible for. If you would like any further answers, please refer to the appropriate thread. This thread is now locked. If you or anyone else has concerns or questions regarding this locking, feel free to message me or another admin to submit an official complaint regarding my behavior.